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Monday, September 9, 2013

Online Etiquette for Authors

While social media and online marketing isn’t such
a new concept anymore, it does help to sometimes refresh the ole writerly brain
on how best to interact over the intertubes. Below are my quick tips to get it
right:

Double check what you’ve written before pressing the send/publish button. Those typos can make you look unprofessional and the grammar errors can make you want to go hide in the closet for a few days—and we all know a closet is not the most inspirational place to write.

Don’t do online what you wouldn’t do in person. Heck, don’t do some things you would do in person too! Use commonsense and courtesy, and avoid those flame wars by avoiding inflammatory language.

Don’t say anything online while you’re angry, drunk or on pain medication. Come to think of it, maybe at times like those, the closet isn’t such a bad place after all.

Be the real thing. If you try to be someone you’re not, then it will show and you’ll come across as disingenuous. No one wants to be accused of being fake, not even this closet-dwelling recluse on a chocolate binge.

Use your author name. As much as ‘AngelsRock’ sounds cool for an online name, even if your stories are about angels, it’s yourself you want to promote. People will connect to a real name over a gamer tag, or even no name at all.

Be available. The whole point of social media is the social aspect. You want people to find you, even contact you. So that means, along with your author name, you’ll need to provide an email address or some other way to connect with you. You'll need to be present on those sites too, rather than relying heavily on automated or prescheduled posts.

Avoid the hard sell. It doesn’t work and it turns people away. Go go double jeopardy.

Talk about other things than your books. Yes, there are a gazillion other things to talk about than the awesomeness of your book.

Cross promote, but don’t only cross promote. If all you post is promotional stuff, whether it’s for your book or someone else’s, people will grow tired of it.

Be generous. Listen to what others have to say and look for opportunities to help.

Thank the people who have helped you. This might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised by how many authors forget to do this. So I’ll say again, if someone has gone out of their way to help you, even if it’s a little thing, then don’t forget to thank them … or into the closet for you!

Can you think of other etiquette do's and don'ts for writers? What's been your standout experience of writers who get it right or wrong?

Photo: A pic I took at IKEA. Think closets. Okay, so it's a thin connection, but I amused myself.

62 comments:

I do like the pic of the hangers!! It's crazy in a mesmerising way! Yay!

I've been around writerly blogs for a few years now and the ones that I love reading get the balance right between being informative, interesting, as well as covering aspects of their book(s), themes etc. I don't know - they are good essayists with a brilliant journalistic feel to their blog posts. It's written with care, thought, consideration and yet you can tell they are edited tightly. Also the posts are about their book and issues surrounding the themes covered by their book and not - or hardly ever - about themselves.

You have covered plenty Lynda. I'm glad you chose this topic because too many people use online personas to do things they'd never do in real life and too many times it's not good things. Online personas no matter the purpose should never have degrading others as it's main purpose.

Don't blog angry!Excellent words of wisdom. Sadly there are a couple bloggers I don't visit much anymore because all they talk about is their book.And definitely watch the attitude online. That goes for comments as well as blog posts, because people are watching. (And the best example of how to do it right is right there at comment number one - the always upbeat Old Kitty!)

I did have to unfollow someone on Twitter recently who plastered my feed with "Buy my book NOW! advertisements. If the result of your hard sell is people turning away, then you might want to rethink your strategy. People are much more interested in buying your book if they get to know YOU a little bit, not your sales pitch.

These are excellent reminders, Lyn, and I think I follow them. I THINK.

Another good one might be to not whine about life problems. Sure, it's okay to share problems/pain every now and then, I mean, after all, some of these people are your friends who want to know, but keep it to a minimum.

Case in point: losing my mother has been very difficult. I can't express. Actually, I can, but I don't. I don't want to lay my pain out for all to see ALL THE TIME. Sometimes, a mention, but for the most part, I soldier on. But it's all I can think about. I just make sure it's not all I write about.

Another thing is constantly complaining about bad reviews. I'm starting to see that demon rear its ugly head a little too often. And a lot of times, it's accompanied by requests to go write a good one or something. Tacky.

Woo about getting the closet connection. Still with flu, I wasn't sure if I was being esoteric or not. lol.

Ah yes, great points! In the case of sharing life problems, I think it's good to show what's happening in your life and good to show your vulnerable, human side (a side I struggle to show because, well, it makes me vulnerable). But like you said, share it occasionally and people will respond with a depth of compassion and support that can be so very heartening.

In the case of reviews, yes indeedy! I have a rough draft of a blog post on this subject. I'm thinking it's time I polish and post.

Exactly, Lyn! You understood perfectly, despite the flu. Yes, showing a little bit of our humanity is actually a plus, but too much is a minus. Constant status updates, blogs, and comments about one's trials is tiring for the reader, who, after awhile, just glosses over them.

There goes my post idea on negative reviews! If Lynda R. Young is writing one, all will be covered. And excellently, might I add. Seriously (because I'm still thinking of writing it), it needs addressing more than 1000 cover reveals so I'll probably get to it later (after I read yet another complaint). I read one the other day that really turned me off the author. It's just not a pretty color—on anyone. Negative reviews, even the trolls, are all part of the game. Water off a duck's back, right?

I like to add have something that other bloggers do not have. I implemented my Did You Know and Fun Facts to most of my posts. Its a short science blast that a visitor can read in less than a minute that hopefully is interesting and relevant to what's going on in our world today.

I especially agree with the point you made about not doing online what you wouldn't do in person. That made me think of all those nasty people who leave mean comments on Youtube videos, news articles, and online posts; I'm willing to bet that most of them wouldn't dare say any of those things in person. But the anonymity of the Internet makes them feel like they can be as mean as they want to be, and they're wrong.

Excellent list! Not only am I gracious and polite online, I think I'm even more so than in real life. I think it's important to connect individually with people too. It's the little things that matter. :)

Great closet photo, if not a bit claustrophobic. LOL These are super tips and reminders here. I especially dislike constant marketing from people. I start tuning out. Kick me if I ever get published and start doing that!!

This list is great! Thanks for the reminders. One thing I run into a lot is (especially for unpublished or newbie writers just looking for some feedback) give back to your community of writers! Don't just beg for critique (or more frequently praise) without being up for critiquing and praising others.

Great post Lynda. Very practical as always. Good manners in all areas of our lives is important if we're not to become 'on the nose.' I think it's crucial to be a reciprocal writer/author/online buddy. 'Do unto others...' remains a good mantra. And celebrate other's successes. A good online buddy just got picked up by a publisher and she posted about it. She claims some people have been less than gracious. Let's not be anything but encouraging of one another.

I tend to check my tweets/posts for spelling and grammar a few times before they go out. Whenever I make a mistake I cringe a little bit since it seems unprofessional. A lot of people may not notice, but I'd know and that's enough :P

Thanks for the refresher course... I do all the positive things I can. I believe what makes our community special IS the etiquette. I find most bloggers are gracious, helpful, polite, and always supportive. That is why I enjoy blogging so much.

I know I help whenever I can and the community does appreciate it. It's all about paying it forward....

This is great advice. I appreciate the refresher now since my book is due out shortly. I am not a social media butterfly (nor am I in person) and doing the social media thing is hard for me. I try to strike a balance, and like you said, just be real. Thanks so much!

Great advice, Lynda. I agree on all points. I also find that along with an easy-to-find email contact, I like when it the author's blog or webpage is readily available. On G+ and Facebook that isn't always the case.

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Welcome to Lynda R Young's blog. The content includes writing tips and some random meanderings. I'm an Aussie and proud of it. All the photos you see on my blog were taken by me unless otherwise stated.